heather11483 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
heathershaped) wrote2009-11-01 08:31 am
heathershaped) wrote2009-11-01 08:31 am
Merls 2x06
Or, Beauty and the Beast, part deux.
Last week was the beast, this week was the beauty, y/y? (also omg I rambled a lot.)
+Ben Vanstone is still my favorite writer on Merlin. He knows how to use the whole cast to greatest effect and he understands what they all bring to the show. There were some misses, but mostly, this ep was awesome.
+ I LOVE ASH. Uther was hilarious, even funnier than last week. His googly eyes and goofy smile! And gettin' his mack on with Lady Cat! All "Hey, baby, I got u flowers". And all that talk about how firm and hard he is? I LOL'ed. Clearly ASH and Sarah Parish were having a BLAST with their scenes.
+ Sarah Parish is still awesome. It's so clear she was enjoying herself and really getting into it, and she was hilarious too.
+ Merlin was so great! I loved the action, it wasn't near as slapstick as I was expecting, at least not in a bad way, and he was charming throughout. I loved that for the most part he relied on actual effective plotting and planning rather than rashly using magic and messing stuff up.
+ Arthur was LOVE. Love, love, love. This was a side of him we haven't seen much this season, the prince who loves his people and wants so badly to do right by them. And standing up to Uther! He's learning different ways to defy him. There's less storming and yelling than last season. In 2x04 he was quiet to Uther's face but snuck out to rescue Gwen, and in this episode, he was more subdued and reasoned, but still firm about not doing what Uther wanted him to do. I like to think it would've been more effective than his usual methods if Uther hadn't been enchanted. He's maturing. ♥
+ Gwen, oh Gwen. :D Thanks for giving her a few LINES, Ben Vanstone. I really appreciated the scene in which she frets over Merlin with Gaius. A very short moment, but it felt so much like season one. Remember when she used to fret over Merlin and interact with Gaius? \o/ To me it signified a possible return to her being in on things the way she often used to be. And she and Merlin are still BFFs even though things have changed with Arthur and everything. Ah, it's wonderful. A hint of things balancing out a little. Also, I liked her look at Gaius when he told her not to worry. ("not worry; are you high?")
+ ETA: Gaius remains disgusting, by the way. Given last season, there was absolutely no reason for him to lie to Gwen, wtf is with his need to keep shit from womenfolk?
+ Gwen/Arthur Once and Future Awesomeness: EEEEEEE. None of you will be surprised at my flailing. They're going to be such an amazing King and Queen you guys. I mean, I still wish the writers would actually reference things from past episodes rather than drop plots when they aren't thinking about them, like Morgana's stuff in 2x03 and the triangular angst of 2x04. And I wish they would stop neglecting to focus on Gwen's feelings at all. It's jarring, but it didn't stop Arthur and Gwen from being LOVELY in this episode. Because Gwen may have been gutted and confused by the Lance and Arthur situation, but this episode made it clear that she still cares very much for Arthur and admires him, which is nothing new. It's like they had this unexpected and impossible Thing happen between them in 2x02 that neither of them knows what to do with, then in 2x04 they took some HUGE steps back, and now they're reconnecting again on a different level. Almost like friends. So the slow burn thing kind of progresses from here. *\o/*
Because what's always drawn me to Gwen and Arthur is how much they have in common under the surface. Both are constrained by duty (albeit in vastly different ways) but they're both such idealists at heart. It's been a common theme for each of them that's been visited consistently since series 1. So seeing them be idealists together, and talk about what they want Camelot to be, has such an epic feel. I'm so excited to see how it goes.
(also, Gwen's face after Arthur gives the people their money back in the village. Haha, she gets so hot and bothered when people are all noble around her, I freaking love it.)
+ Merlin/Arthur! BOYS. Every one of their interactions was GOLDEN in this episode. Arthur being worried about Merlin and sending him away! Finding him under the bed later and being freaked that Merlin had been under there listening to him wank! The scene with Gaius about the poison, some of the best comedic writing the show has seen! Squeezing the antidote out of his own scarf! The NOT-HUG! So well-played, boys. Still bringing the subtext and I love it. And I'm with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
shantirosa, if Merlin had gone in for a hug-and-run, I would've died of glee.
+ Back to Arthur, and Uther. I like when the show visits Arthur's daddy issues and his inner conflict between how much he clearly loves his father and how deeply he wishes not to be LIKE his father. And underneath the lulz, there was a lot of angst there when Arthur felt Uther couldn't stand the sight of him. Oh, poor woob. <3 At the same time, the scene at the end where they were at the table was hilarious and VERY father-son, wherein Arthur did Not Want To Know The Details, but still couldn't resist having a laugh at Uther's expense.
+ Speaking of which, hahahahahahaha UTHER MAY NEVER EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING EVER AGAIN EEEEEEWWWWWW. Hahahahahaha. Hahaha. Haha. Ha. That was the one time I've ever felt solidarity with the Dragon. Who was HILARIOUS, by the way. He could not stop laughing, oh the schadenfreude. That was seriously one of my favorite scenes. And Merlin's reactions were priceless, indulgent and long-suffering. Brilliant. What I loved about this episode was that the comedy was actually FUNNY, in relation to most of last week's stuff.
+ More funny: Arthur/Morgana siblingness! It wasn't enough for my taste, but what was there in that troll reveal scene was priceless. Their interaction was sorely missing from last week's episode. They should always have scenes and snark, writers, come on now. Also funny was Sir Leon. I LOVE LEON. "More like ... more like tusks." EL OH EL.
+ Not so funny: the toilet humour. I couldn't even look for most of that, I'll be honest. I think there were probably a lot of kids who laughing though, so it's all good.
+ Also Not Funny: I miss Morgeezy! I think the writers don't know what to do with her when they aren't progressing the magic plot, or possibly, involving her in plots to save the day goes against their attempts to paint her as untrustworthy (don't get me started on that)? But she should've at least been around to rage when Arthur was disinherited, or freak out when he died, or possibly LOL in the dinner scene at the end, or SOMETHING. Good lord. Katie rocked the reaction shots in the coronation sequence, but didn't get to do much otherwise. I'm not as worried overall because from all I've heard, she's getting some meaty stuff to do later on, but still, come on.
+ I'm probably forgetting things but overall -- and maybe my expectations were low -- I loved this episode. It had a lot of the things I have always loved about this show.
And there was that one time the Dragon nearly died of LULZ:
(gif by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
letsey_x)
Last week was the beast, this week was the beauty, y/y? (also omg I rambled a lot.)
+Ben Vanstone is still my favorite writer on Merlin. He knows how to use the whole cast to greatest effect and he understands what they all bring to the show. There were some misses, but mostly, this ep was awesome.
+ I LOVE ASH. Uther was hilarious, even funnier than last week. His googly eyes and goofy smile! And gettin' his mack on with Lady Cat! All "Hey, baby, I got u flowers". And all that talk about how firm and hard he is? I LOL'ed. Clearly ASH and Sarah Parish were having a BLAST with their scenes.
+ Sarah Parish is still awesome. It's so clear she was enjoying herself and really getting into it, and she was hilarious too.
+ Merlin was so great! I loved the action, it wasn't near as slapstick as I was expecting, at least not in a bad way, and he was charming throughout. I loved that for the most part he relied on actual effective plotting and planning rather than rashly using magic and messing stuff up.
+ Arthur was LOVE. Love, love, love. This was a side of him we haven't seen much this season, the prince who loves his people and wants so badly to do right by them. And standing up to Uther! He's learning different ways to defy him. There's less storming and yelling than last season. In 2x04 he was quiet to Uther's face but snuck out to rescue Gwen, and in this episode, he was more subdued and reasoned, but still firm about not doing what Uther wanted him to do. I like to think it would've been more effective than his usual methods if Uther hadn't been enchanted. He's maturing. ♥
+ Gwen, oh Gwen. :D Thanks for giving her a few LINES, Ben Vanstone. I really appreciated the scene in which she frets over Merlin with Gaius. A very short moment, but it felt so much like season one. Remember when she used to fret over Merlin and interact with Gaius? \o/ To me it signified a possible return to her being in on things the way she often used to be. And she and Merlin are still BFFs even though things have changed with Arthur and everything. Ah, it's wonderful. A hint of things balancing out a little. Also, I liked her look at Gaius when he told her not to worry. ("not worry; are you high?")
+ ETA: Gaius remains disgusting, by the way. Given last season, there was absolutely no reason for him to lie to Gwen, wtf is with his need to keep shit from womenfolk?
+ Gwen/Arthur Once and Future Awesomeness: EEEEEEE. None of you will be surprised at my flailing. They're going to be such an amazing King and Queen you guys. I mean, I still wish the writers would actually reference things from past episodes rather than drop plots when they aren't thinking about them, like Morgana's stuff in 2x03 and the triangular angst of 2x04. And I wish they would stop neglecting to focus on Gwen's feelings at all. It's jarring, but it didn't stop Arthur and Gwen from being LOVELY in this episode. Because Gwen may have been gutted and confused by the Lance and Arthur situation, but this episode made it clear that she still cares very much for Arthur and admires him, which is nothing new. It's like they had this unexpected and impossible Thing happen between them in 2x02 that neither of them knows what to do with, then in 2x04 they took some HUGE steps back, and now they're reconnecting again on a different level. Almost like friends. So the slow burn thing kind of progresses from here. *\o/*
Because what's always drawn me to Gwen and Arthur is how much they have in common under the surface. Both are constrained by duty (albeit in vastly different ways) but they're both such idealists at heart. It's been a common theme for each of them that's been visited consistently since series 1. So seeing them be idealists together, and talk about what they want Camelot to be, has such an epic feel. I'm so excited to see how it goes.
(also, Gwen's face after Arthur gives the people their money back in the village. Haha, she gets so hot and bothered when people are all noble around her, I freaking love it.)
+ Merlin/Arthur! BOYS. Every one of their interactions was GOLDEN in this episode. Arthur being worried about Merlin and sending him away! Finding him under the bed later and being freaked that Merlin had been under there listening to him wank! The scene with Gaius about the poison, some of the best comedic writing the show has seen! Squeezing the antidote out of his own scarf! The NOT-HUG! So well-played, boys. Still bringing the subtext and I love it. And I'm with
shantirosa, if Merlin had gone in for a hug-and-run, I would've died of glee. + Back to Arthur, and Uther. I like when the show visits Arthur's daddy issues and his inner conflict between how much he clearly loves his father and how deeply he wishes not to be LIKE his father. And underneath the lulz, there was a lot of angst there when Arthur felt Uther couldn't stand the sight of him. Oh, poor woob. <3 At the same time, the scene at the end where they were at the table was hilarious and VERY father-son, wherein Arthur did Not Want To Know The Details, but still couldn't resist having a laugh at Uther's expense.
+ Speaking of which, hahahahahahaha UTHER MAY NEVER EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING EVER AGAIN EEEEEEWWWWWW. Hahahahahaha. Hahaha. Haha. Ha. That was the one time I've ever felt solidarity with the Dragon. Who was HILARIOUS, by the way. He could not stop laughing, oh the schadenfreude. That was seriously one of my favorite scenes. And Merlin's reactions were priceless, indulgent and long-suffering. Brilliant. What I loved about this episode was that the comedy was actually FUNNY, in relation to most of last week's stuff.
+ More funny: Arthur/Morgana siblingness! It wasn't enough for my taste, but what was there in that troll reveal scene was priceless. Their interaction was sorely missing from last week's episode. They should always have scenes and snark, writers, come on now. Also funny was Sir Leon. I LOVE LEON. "More like ... more like tusks." EL OH EL.
+ Not so funny: the toilet humour. I couldn't even look for most of that, I'll be honest. I think there were probably a lot of kids who laughing though, so it's all good.
+ Also Not Funny: I miss Morgeezy! I think the writers don't know what to do with her when they aren't progressing the magic plot, or possibly, involving her in plots to save the day goes against their attempts to paint her as untrustworthy (don't get me started on that)? But she should've at least been around to rage when Arthur was disinherited, or freak out when he died, or possibly LOL in the dinner scene at the end, or SOMETHING. Good lord. Katie rocked the reaction shots in the coronation sequence, but didn't get to do much otherwise. I'm not as worried overall because from all I've heard, she's getting some meaty stuff to do later on, but still, come on.
+ I'm probably forgetting things but overall -- and maybe my expectations were low -- I loved this episode. It had a lot of the things I have always loved about this show.
And there was that one time the Dragon nearly died of LULZ:
(gif by
letsey_x)
no subject
Loved Arthur standing up to Uther. And getting his Gwen approbation reward :)
no subject
Lookit this; boy is on the bullet train to Goner-town:
- Both Merlin and the Dragon made that scene HILARIOUS. Who'd have thought we'd get some actual comedy this week?
no subject